Gregor Robertson, the vain and dopey mayor of Vancouver, has less than 50 days to fulfill his oft-stated objective of eliminating homelessness from his city by 2016, an absurdly specific promise he made while campaigning for his first term back in 2008. When he inevitably fails to meet this deadline, he may cite the equally moronic promise of another politician in defense.
In a desperate effort to tack to the left of Stephen Harper on the refugee file — a tall task given the Conservatives had already admitted some 22,500 refugees from Iraq and Syria and vowed to welcome another 10,000 if re-elected — Justin Trudeau cockily assured voters his party would not only hike the intake to 25,000, it would do so within the calendar year.
Vancouver offers a useful metric for measuring the sheer thoughtlessness of this idea. The Vancouver Sun estimates that around 10% of Trudeau's 25,000 — or about 2,700 — will arrive in the greater Vancouver area in the next few weeks — a figure larger than the number of refugees British Columbia ordinarily resettles in the course of an entire year. Experts describe it as the largest refugee intake in the province's history.
Much dark humor was had last spring when city bureaucrats revealed Vancouver was not only nowhere near Mayor Robertson's goal of eliminating homelessness, the homeless population had actually doubled under his reign and was now at the highest levels in the city's history. According to the municipal government's most recent tally, 1,746 Vancouverites are without permanent homes, including 488 living on the street. The other day the city announced it had secured $1.5 million from the province to provide 170 new shelter beds, but only until the end of April. Short-term stopgaps like these are about as good as it gets.
It is into this context Vancouver is now expected to absorb 2,700 newcomers who not only lack homes and jobs, but support networks and English skills to boot. Speaking on behalf of Mayor Robertson, who is off galavanting in China at the moment, Councillor Geoffrey Meggs dubbed the crisis "an exciting challenge." And why not? During the federal election, Robertson (who had previously been scouted as a possible Liberal candidate) weighed in with his preference that a just Canada should admit 20,000 refugees every year until 2020.
Gracious man that he is, Mayor Robertson is eager to share the excitement. As his official statement bossily informs Vancouverites, "I encourage you to find out how you can help welcome our new arrivals," before directing them to the website of Immigrant Settlement Services of BC. The Immigrant Settlement Services people, in turn, say anyone who has some good leads on homes or jobs for the Syrians should give them a call. In the meantime, it sounds like they'll simply be stuffed wherever they'll fit, with gymnasium floors and church basements currently being floated as possibilities.
The Syrian refugee crisis has exposed bleeding-heart liberalism at its worst: an ideology that prioritizes giving politicians the warm fuzzies above even the thinnest shred of commonsense concern for what is practical or reasonable.
Communities across Canada that can barely care for the poor and indigent they already have are suddenly being forced to admit thousands of new residents — including a great deal of young men — arriving fresh from the Middle East's most vicious war zone. Scenes from Europe reveal the consequences of such lazy generosity. Squalid camps that become hotbeds of disease, violence, and rape. Heightened cultural, religious, and racial tensions between an unwilling host society and scores of opportunistic newcomers with no intention of assimilation. Millions of tax dollars wasted providing misdirected charity to fraudsters and phonies. Islamist infiltration. It can take American officials up to two years to validate the legitimacy of a refugee's claim and clear them of potential threats to national security. Prime Minister Trudeau and his thrown-together sub-committee think they can pull it off in seven weeks.
In an effort to set a good example to his reluctant nation, the millionaire prime minister of Finland recently agreed to personally welcome a refugee family to live in his house. No doubt expecting a crippled widow clutching a doe-eyed baby, he wound up getting a giant 20-year-old bodybuilder whose Facebook feed was brimming with selfies of the grinning bro touring the malls of Europe in stylish outfits.
Canadians are being asked to bear the burden of their politicians' reckless feel-good fantasies. The proper reply should be, "you first."
Written by J.J McCullough
